Canada’s resource minister said on Wednesday that construction on the Trans Mountain project had been delayed, but he did not provide an update on when the expansion of the oil pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia’s coast would be complete.
The Canadian government agreed in May to buy the pipeline and project from Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd for $4.5-billion, in an effort to ensure its expansion went ahead. It is currently scheduled to be in service by December 2020.
“Yes, there’s a delay because of – the construction was stopped for a couple of months, but this is a project that is moving forward and will continue to move forward until it’s done,” Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi told reporters outside a Cabinet meeting in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Canada’s energy regulator gave the go-ahead last week for construction of a large portion of the expansion. Preliminary work on the route has started but pipeline crews are not expected until the spring of 2019.